Canadian progressive-metal stalwart Devin Townsend has confirmed that he will be performing at London’s Royal Albert Hall on Saturday the 16th and Sunday the 17th of April. Townsend will be joined by Danish prog outfit Vola on the Saturday, and Norwegian rockers Leprous on the Sunday. Townsend announced the shows officially via his social media, saying: “it’s actually happening”.
Townsend initially announced the shows in early January, however made it clear that given the COVID-19 situation at the time, he was unsure whether the performances would go forward, saying: “2 nights at Royal Albert Hall as well as an Irish and Scottish date, Dream Theater dates after then it basically turns into a cycle of craziness with tours and festivals. I’m getting myself focussed and ready to sing again so fingers crossed I suppose, life changes so quickly these days so let’s see where things go:)”
Ever prolific, Devin Townsend will be releasing a new album in March, entitled Lightwork. It follows the release of two ambient albums entitled The Puzzle and Snuggles, which were Townsend’s nineteenth and twentieth albums respectively. Townsend has stated that they shouldn’t be regarded as “proper” albums and “more a collaborative, multimedia art project that acts as a stopgap between Empath and the next record”. Townsend released a five-part documentary regarding the making of the two albums, entitled Making THE PUZZLE which can be found on YouTube. You can check out part one at the link below.
No official singles have been released from Lightwork, however Townsend has played some demos from the record on his Twitch streams, which some fans have uploaded to YouTube. Townsend has said that the upcoming record is: “abstract and a stream of conscious. Still significantly far away from anything, but it’s determinedly taking shape. It’s been odd though, as every record is a reflection of the time it was conceived… This is clearly a weird time. It’s strange, abstract, meandering and weird. If I try to curb it and write something more disciplined, it would be a dumb rehash of stuff I’m clearly bored of. So, I follow this where it wants to go.”
Following Townsend’s Royal Albert Hall shows, he will be embarking on a European tour supporting Dream Theater. Tickets can be purchased here, and all his upcoming dates can be viewed down below.
13/04/2022- Olympia- Dublin
14/04- Glasgow Academy- Glasgow
16/04- Royal Albert Hall- London
17/04- Royal Albert Hall- London
w/ Dream Theater
20/04- SSE Arena- Belfast
21/04- Utilita Arena- Newcastle
23/04- Wembley- Greater London
Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat
